‘The Immortal Lincoln’ comes to The Henry Ford’s Giant Screen on Nov. 12: a $15 night with the filmmakers, a live score and a Ford curator

DEARBORN — The Henry Ford will show a short documentary about a car, a small-town newspaper and the people who built one and nearly lost the other, in a one-night event at its Giant Screen Experience on Thursday, Nov. 12. It is the museum’s second new draw this fall, after it opened a LEGO space exhibit in October.

“The Immortal Lincoln” runs 23 minutes. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the program starts at 7 p.m., the museum said in a release Tuesday, Nov. 3. Tickets are $15 for the general public and $12.75 for members.

The film tells the story of Douglas Burns, an Iowa newspaper publisher from Carroll who lost his family’s fourth-generation newspaper business. Facing grief, money trouble and mental health struggles, Burns found an unexpected source of hope in his 2013 Lincoln MKS, according to the release. His story led to connections with the Ford and Lincoln employees who designed and built the car.

What the evening includes

The night opens with a live performance by songwriter and composer Jason Walsmith, who wrote the film’s score. After the screening, producer and editor Heidi Kraus, University of Michigan mental health expert Dr. Lindsay Bornheimer and Matt Anderson, The Henry Ford’s curator of transportation, will talk about the film’s themes of mental health, resilience and connection, and the role cars play in people’s lives. An audience Q&A follows.

The documentary includes Ford CEO Jim Farley, Executive Chairman Bill Ford, factory employees, journalists and mental health experts. It was inspired by a Detroit Free Press story about Burns that ran across the USA Today Network. Automotive journalist Phoebe Wall Howard, a contributing car culture columnist for The Detroit News, is the executive producer.

The museum’s viewer advisory says the film includes discussions of depression and suicidal thoughts. It is hopeful in tone, but some content may be hard to watch and may not suit younger children, so parental discretion is advised.

A Port Huron director

The film’s director, C. John Anter, is a Port Huron Central High School graduate and a third-generation Port Huron resident who works as a master electrician and belongs to IBEW Local 58 in Detroit, according to the Port Huron Museums. He is also a licensed drone pilot and a freelance photographer for the USA Today Network. After finishing work on the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, he took documentary film classes at a writers’ and songwriters’ retreat in Iowa, which the museum says inspired the project.

Port Huron gets an early look. The Port Huron Museums will host a preview screening and a Q&A with Anter and his film team, with a performance by Walsmith, on Monday, Nov. 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Carnegie Museum, 1115 Sixth St., as part of its Carnegie Lecture Series. Tickets there are $20 to $25.

Anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, at any hour.

Sources:
The Henry Ford via PR Newswire, “The Henry Ford to Host Special Screening of ‘The Immortal Lincoln’” (Nov. 3, 2026; date, times, tickets, program, film details, advisory), https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-henry-ford-to-host-special-screening-of-the-immortal-lincoln-302927920.html
The Henry Ford, Giant Screen Experience event page (screening details, viewer advisory), https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/venues/giant-screen-experience
Port Huron Museums, “C. John Anter & His Film Team – ‘The Immortal Lincoln’” (Nov. 9 preview, prices, venue, Anter background), https://www.phmuseum.org/event/c-john-anter-his-film-team-the-immortal-lincoln/
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, https://988lifeline.org/
Photo: Mr.choppers, “2013 Lincoln MKS AWD facelift, front view.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2013_Lincoln_MKS_AWD_facelift,_front_view.jpg

Dearborn

Tags: The Henry Ford · The Immortal Lincoln · Giant Screen Experience · Documentary · Lincoln MKS · Port Huron